Vacuum-generator for steam-heating systems



B. W. McC'LYMONT.

VACUUM GENERATOR FOR STEAM HEATING SYSTEMS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 27, I9I8.

* PatenfedAug. 30,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- I III III III

B. W. McCLYMONT.

VACUUM GENERATOR FOR STEAM HEATING SYSTEMS APPLICATION FILED NOV-27, 1915.

1,388,871 Patented Aug. 30, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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BRYCE W. MCCLYMONT, 01E DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR 'IQ PENBER'I'HY INJEC- TOR COMPANY, or nn'raoir, MICHIGAN, a CORPORATION or MICHIGAN.

VAGUUM-GENERATOR FOR STEAM-HEATING SYSTEMS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 30, 1921,

Application filed November 27, 1918. Serial No. 264,409.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Baron W. MoCLY- MONT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county of \Vayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vacuum- Generators forSteam-Heating Systems, of

which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to a hydraulic apparatus operated by the fiowv of waterfrom a supply under pressure, asthe service pipe of a municipal water system, and is more particularly intended for producing and maintaining a low pressure in the air pipe passages of heating systems in which steam'conduoted into the heating coils of radiators in the different compartments of a building is used as the heating agent. My new apparatus is in the nature of a modification of and an improvement upon a hydraulic vacuum generator or pump described in McClymont Patent No. 1,265,928, issued on May 14th, 1918. The general object of my invention is to render such a device as that illustrated and described in said patent automatic in a positive and reliable manner, and to so arrange and construct the parts through which the automatic action is attained as to produce a simple, efficient and desirable device, well adapted for the purposes for which it is intended. With the foregoing and incidental objeots and advantages in view, I have designed and invented the improved apparatus hereinafter more fully described, the essential elements of my invention being pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood, however, that my' invention may be modified in the form and proportions of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of such claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a heating system provided with a vacuum generating device embodying invention, and Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the device itself.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts wherever applied in the drawings.

'In Fig. 1 of the drawings I haveillustrated my inventionas applied-to a double pipe heating system, although, aslater exfigure, and in accordance with well known practice, steam generated by the boiler 1 is conducted through the steampipes 2130 the radiators 3 wherever located, and return pipes 4 are provided which conduct the water of condensation back to the lower part of the boiler. Thermostatic air valves 5, constructed to permit the passage of cold vapor and toclosequickly by the action of heat,whereby they close when acted upon by steam, are arranged to control communication between the radiators and the return plpes d of the system, the main return pipe being connected with the vacuum generator at some convenient point above the water level of the boiler'by an air pipe 7 serving as an air trap for the collection of water vapor and air.

The vacuum generating device to which my invention relates includes an ejector having valve-governed communication with the water under pressure, as the service pipe 8, and a suction or vacuum chamber in communication with the air pipe 7 (in the present instance through'a float valve and check valve controlled passage,) such vacuum chamber being also in communication with the closed chamber of a spring-tensioned diaphragm which is operatively connected with the valve governing the passage of water through the ejector.

The admission valve 9 of the vacuum pump may conveniently be mounted in a valve body 10 having an apertureol partition 11 formed with a valve seat, and also having a vertical cylindrical extension 12 in which is arranged a stufling box 13 for the valve stem 14. Below the stuffing box the extension 12 is formed with a cylindrical cushioning chamber 15 adapted to receive and slidingly engage the longitudinally grooved upper portion of the valve 9, which is rotatably connected with the stem 14.

The valve body 10 makes screw-threaded engagement with the outer end of the jet member 16 of the ejector, such jet member being also provided with threads engagin a threaded seat in the injector casing 17. pposite the inner end of the jet the casing is followed out to form the vacuum chamber, and its forward tubular end extends upwardly in the form of an ogee curve. Mounted in the injector casing concentrically of jet 16 is a nozzle member 18, the

forward end of the jet projecting a short distance into the rear end of the nozzle. As shown, the forward or discharge end of the ejector passage, communicating with the sewer or other outlet, is governed by a check valve 19.

The diaphragm casing may conveniently be made in two parts, the lower section being formed with a hollow externally threaded nipple 21 engaging a seat in the injector casing and providing communication with the vacuum chamber thereof. The flexible diaphragm 22 is secured between the lower section 20 and the upper section 23 of the diaphragm by a series of bolts 24, one of which, marked 2%, extends through the casing sections and engages an internally threaded post on the front end of the ejector casing. The upper section 23 of the diaphragm casing is centrally apertured to accommodate a link 25 the lower end of which is secured to the diaphragm and the upper end of which has a one way or lost motion engagement with an operating lever 26.

This operating lever is flexibly connected at one end to the ejector casing through a link 27 and its other end is pivotally connected to the upper end of the valve stem 14:, hereinbefore described. lnterposed between the cap of the stuffing box 13 of the valve and an adjusting nut 28 mounted on the threaded upper end of the stem 14 is a compression spring 29, the tension of which stresses the diaphragm upwardly.

The vacuum chamber of the device is arranged to communicate with the air pipe system, in the present instance, though not necessarily, through a combined check and float valve device forming part of a heating system which constitutes the subject matter of my separate application No. 26eAlO filed November 27, 1918, and is therefore not herein specifically claimed. It will ther fore suiiice to briefly explain that this device consists of a float chamber 30 within which is arranged a float 31 provided with a hollow'stem which at its upper end carries a valve 32 adapted to shut off the passage of fluid into the vacuum chamber, this float valve having a projecting pin 33 which as such valve closes contacts-a ball check valve arranged in the passage opening into the vacuum chamber.

The manner in which my improved vac uum generating apparatus operates will readily be understood from the foregoing description of its mechanical construction and arrangement. When the heating system is in operation a shut-off valve 35 (which is closed when the system is idle) stands constantly open to permit the ejector to operate under certain conditions. Assuming the heating system to have been standing idle, the piping will be filled with cold air and water vapor and the stress of the spring 29 will cause the valve 9 to stand open. Upon opening the shut-off valve to admit water under pressure the action of the ejector will create a suction in the vacuum chamber which will draw the cold air from the radiators ahead of the steam which at the time is flowing into the radiators from the boiler and steam pipes. As soon as the steam reaches the thermostatic valves 5 they automatically close, and the action of the ejector thereupon still further reduces the air pres-' sure in the vacuum chamber until the preponderance of atmospheric pressure upon the outside of the diaphragm, acting through the link 25 and lever 26, becomes such as to overcome the resistance of the spring 29, shifting the valve 9 gradually down to its seat and stopping the exhausting actionvof the ejector. The check valve 19 immediately closes, thus maintaining the vacuum in the vacuum chamber and air pipes, and through the action of the diaphragm 22 the valve 9 is held closed. This is the normal condition of the parts while the heating system is in use, shown in full lines in Fig. 2, the position of the diaphragm and connected lever 26 when the heating system is idle being indicated in dotted lines. Should the vacuum in the air system diminish,i-. c. the pressure increase,-through leakage or the cooling of any thermostatic valve and the passage of air or vapor therethrough, the reduced effect of atmospheric pressure on the outer face of the diaphragm will permit the spring 29 to open the valve 9 and increase the vacuum until the valve is again closed by the reduction of pressure.

In case the vacuum should be so great as to lift water of condensation to the level of the ejector passage the float valve 32 prevents it from being carried into the sewer instead of being returned to the boiler. The ball check valve 34 provides a further safeguard, additional to the check valve 19, against leakage of air back into the air pipe system. It is obvious, however, that if desired the air-pipes may communicate directly with the vacuum chamber ofthe device and the float valve and ball check valve be dispensed with.

In installations employing a sin le pipe system, such as illustrated in Me lymont Patent No. 1,265,928, before mentioned, the

steam pipes are connected to the lowermost part of the radiators so that any water of condensation which may form will flow back to the boiler by gravity through the steam pipes. In such systems small return air pipes for the return or venting of air only connected to the upper part of the radiator and conducted to a convenient point adjacent the boiler are provided, and this connected system of air pipes communicates through a drain passage with the lower part of the boiler for returning to it whatever water of condensation may pass into such air pipes. In an installation of this description the connection to the combined float and check valve of the vacuum generator is made in the same manner as the connection with the air pipe of the double pipe system here inbefore described.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, an ejector casing having inlet and outlet openings and a vacuum chamber and ejector members arranged to produce a vacuum in said chamber, a diaphragm casing mounted on said ejector casing and a diaphragm arranged therein, one side of said diaphragm being subject to the pressure in said vacuum chamber and the other side exposed to atmospheric pressure, a valve casing and an admission valve therein arranged adjacent the inlet of said ejector casing, said valve having a valve stem, a lever pivotally connected with said valve stem and also flexibly connected with said ejector casing, a link' connecting said diaphragm and said lever, a spring tending to open said valve, and a check valve at the :outlet'opening of said ejector casing.

2. In a device of the character described, an ejector casing having inlet and outlet openings and a vacuum chamber and ejector members arranged to produce a vacuum in said chamber, a diaphragm casing mounted on said ejector casing and a diaphragm arranged therein, one side cf said diaphragm being subject to the pressure in said vacuum chamber and the other side exposed to atmospheric pressure, a valve casing and an admission. valve therein arranged adjacent the inlet of said ejector casing, said valvehaving a valve stem, a lever pivotally connected at one end with said valve stem and extending diametrically over said diaphragm casing and flexibly connected at its other end with said ejector casing, a link connecting said diaphragm and said lever, a spring tending to open said valve, and a check valve at the outlet opening of said ejector casing.

8. In a device of the character described,an ejector casing having inlet and outlet openings and a vacuum chamber and ejector members arranged to produce a vacuum in said chamber, a diaphragm casing mounted on said ejector casing and a diaphragm arranged therein, one side of said diaphragm being subject to the pressure in said vacuum chamber and the other side exposed to atmospheric pressure, a valve casing and an admission valve therein arranged adjacent the inlet of said ejector casing, said va ve having a valve stem, a lever pivotally connected with said valve stem and also flexibly connected with said ejector casing, a link connecting said diaphragm and said lever, a coiled compression spring surrounding said valve stem and yieldingly tending to open said valve, and a check valve at the outlet opening of said ejector casing. v

4. In a device of the character described, an ejector casing having inlet and outlet openings and a vacuum chamber and ejector members arranged to produce a Vacuum in said chamber, a diaphragm casing mounted on said ejector casing and a diaphragm aranged therein, one side of said diaphragm bein sub'ect to the ressure in said vacuum.

chamber and the other side exposed to atmospheric pressure, a valve casing and an admission valve therein arranged adjacent the inlet of said ejector casing, said valve having a threaded valve stem, a lever pivotally connected with said valve stem and also flexibly connected with said ejector casing, a link connecting said diaphragm and said lever, an adjusting nut mounted on said valve stem, a coiled compression spring surrounding said valve stem and yieldingly tending to open said valve, and a check valve at the outlet opening of said ejector casing.

BOYCE WV. McCLYMONT. 

